EPL: Man Utd, Liverpool set Old Trafford ablaze

Manchester United and Liverpool will renew their historic rivalry on Saturday, as two of the Premier League’s biggest clubs will headline Week 30 of the 2017-18 campaign.
Both sides are battling it out for a spot in next year’s UEFA Champions League and sit in the top four of the standings albeit far behind leaders Manchester City.
While Mohamed Salah leads the Reds in scoring with 24 Premier League goals, fellow attacker Roberto Firmino has been just as important, and arguably even more.
The Brazilian has replaced compatriot Philippe Coutinho as the main creative force following the latter’s departure for Barcelona, playing a key role in the buildup play without forgetting about his duties inside the penalty box.
As a result, he’s been exceptionally productive of late, with at least a goal or assist in his last three Premier League outings. He’s had both in more matches than anyone else:
United are not afraid to set up shop in front of their own box against the top clubs, limiting the space inside their own half and playing for a draw if they have to. Such tactics would negate Salah’s tremendous speed, which remains his best asset on the pitch.
In that case, the Reds will likely turn to the dribbling and passing ability of their top creative men, starting with Firmino. If the former Hoffenheim star can drop a little deeper and create separation from his marker, he could be the key to unlocking the United defence.
The man tasked with keeping the likes of Salah and Firmino from scoring will be David De Gea, and he does this better than just about everyone else in the world.
The Spain international remains United’s top player, capable of winning the team plenty of points every season.
Even if United’s defence play a flawless match, it’s unlikely Liverpool will not have at least a few looks on goal. Manager Jurgen Klopp has his side playing spectacular attacking football they will create chances, even against the best of defences.
There’s every chance De Gea will be kept busy on Saturday, but in all likelihood, he’ll be up to the task.
The Red Devils have enjoyed a whole week without a match following their crucial 2-1 victory over champions Chelsea in week 29 and escaped with 2-3 win over relegation threatening Crystal Palace on Monday.
But they need to keep up the momentum with a win at Selhurst Park as they look to stay ahead of Liverpool, Tottenham and the Blues in a tight race to qualify for the Champions League.
Jose Mourinho is missing several experienced players at the moment, with defensive trio Marcos Rojo, and Phil Jones all still unavailable with minor injuries.
Ander Herrera has a hamstring problem and will also miss out, while Marouane Fellaini’s knee problem is expected to keep him out until late March.
Meanwhile, the Citizens will face Stoke City on Monday, Arsenal host Watford on Sunday and Chelsea will take on Crystal Palace on Saturday. Here’s a look at the full schedule, complete with picks.
Possible Line-Up
Man Utd: De Gea, Valencia, Smalling, Lindelof, Young, McTominay, Pogba, Matic, Sanchez, Lingard, Lukaku.
Subs: Pereira, Bailly, Darmian, Shaw, Carrick, Mata, Rashford.
Liverpool: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Can, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Head to Head Summary
Team P W D L
Liverpool 171 56 48 67
Man Utd 171 67 48 56
NPFL
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Kano Pillars 11 5 5 1 15 7 8 20
2 Lobi Stars 11 6 2 3 10 6 4 20
3 Plateau 9 6 0 3 13 4 9 18
4 Enyimba 10 4 5 1 8 6 2 17
5 Rivers Utd 11 5 2 4 9 9 0 17
6 Akwa Utd 9 5 1 3 14 5 9 16
7 Yobe Desert 10 5 1 4 10 11 -1 16
8 Sunshine 11 4 4 3 9 12 -3 16
9 Rangers 11 4 3 4 8 9 -1 15
10 Katsina 10 4 2 4 15 9 6 14
11 Abia W. 11 4 2 5 8 8 0 14
12 IfeanyiUbah 11 4 2 5 11 12 -1 14
13 Nasarawa 11 4 1 6 12 12 0 13
14 Heartland 10 3 4 3 8 8 0 13
15 Tornadoes 11 4 1 6 10 13 -3 13
16 MFM FC 10 4 1 5 8 12 -4 13
17 Wikki FC 11 4 1 6 7 13 -6 13
18 El-Kanemi 11 3 3 5 6 10 -4 12
19 Go Round 10 3 1 6 6 12 -6 10
20 Kwara Utd 11 3 1 7 7 16 -9 10
Premier League | LOGS
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Man City 29 25 3 1 83 20 63 78
2 Man Utd 29 19 5 5 56 22 34 62
3 Liverpool 29 17 9 3 67 32 35 60
4 Tottenham 29 17 7 5 55 24 31 58
5 Chelsea 29 16 5 8 50 26 24 53
6 Arsenal 29 13 6 10 52 41 11 45
7 Burnley 29 10 10 9 24 26 -2 40
8 Leicester 29 9 10 10 41 42 -1 37
9 Watford 29 10 6 13 39 47 -8 36
10 Brighton 29 8 10 11 28 38 -10 34
11 Everton 29 9 7 13 33 49 -16 34
12 Bo’mouth 29 8 9 12 34 44 -10 33
13 Swansea 29 8 6 15 25 42 -17 30
14 West Ham 29 7 9 13 36 54 -18 30
15 Hud’sfield 29 8 6 15 25 50 -25 30
16 Newcastle 29 7 8 14 27 40 -13 29
17 So’Ampton 29 5 13 11 29 41 -12 28
18 C/Palace 29 6 9 14 27 46 -19 27
19 Stoke City 29 6 9 14 28 54 -26 27
20 West Brom 29 3 11 15 22 43 -21 20
Spanish
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Barcelona 27 21 6 0 70 13 57 69
2 Atlético 27 18 7 2 45 12 33 61
3 Real Madrid 27 16 6 5 65 29 36 54
4 Valencia 27 16 5 6 52 30 22 53
5 Sevilla 27 14 3 10 36 40 -4 45
6 Villarreal 27 12 5 10 36 32 4 41
7 Girona 27 11 7 9 38 36 2 40
8 Eibar 27 11 6 10 34 39 -5 39
9 Celta Vigo 27 11 5 11 45 39 6 38
10 Real Betis 27 11 4 12 43 52 -9 37
11 Getafe 27 9 9 9 33 25 8 36
12 Sociedad 27 9 6 12 49 48 1 33
13 Leganés 27 9 6 12 23 32 -9 33
14 Athletic 27 7 11 9 27 31 -4 32
15 Espanyol 27 7 11 9 24 33 -9 32
16 Alavés 27 10 1 16 24 39 -15 31
17 Levante 27 3 12 12 22 42 -20 21
18 Las Palmas 27 5 5 17 20 55 -35 20
19 Deportivo 27 4 7 16 25 57 -32 19
20 Málaga 27 3 4 20 16 43 -27 13
BUNDESLIGA
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Bayern 24 19 3 2 55 18 37 60
2 Schalke 25 12 7 6 39 30 9 43
3 Dortmund 25 11 9 5 50 31 19 42
4 Frankfurt 25 12 6 7 33 27 6 42
5 Leverkusen 25 11 8 6 45 33 12 41
6 Leipzig 25 11 6 8 38 34 4 39
7 Hoffenheim 25 9 8 8 40 38 2 35
8 M’gladbach 25 10 5 10 33 37 -4 35
9 Stuttgart 25 10 3 12 23 29 -6 33
10 Augsburg 25 8 8 9 33 32 1 32
11 Hannover 25 8 8 9 32 35 -3 32
12 Hertha 25 7 10 8 30 31 -1 31
13 Freiburg 25 6 11 8 25 42 -17 29
14 Bremen 25 6 9 10 24 30 -6 27
15 Wolfsburg 25 4 13 8 28 33 -5 25
16 Mainz 05 25 6 7 12 29 42 -13 25
17 Hamburger SV 25 4 6 15 18 35 -17 18
18 Köln 25 4 5 16 24 46 -22 17
Italian Serie
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Napoli 27 22 3 2 62 19 43 69
2 Juventus 26 22 2 2 63 15 48 68
3 Roma 27 16 5 6 44 23 21 53
4 Lazio 27 16 4 7 64 34 30 52
5 Inter 26 14 9 3 42 21 21 51
6 Sampdoria 26 13 5 8 46 34 12 44
7 Milan 26 13 5 8 37 30 7 44
8 Atalanta 25 10 8 7 37 29 8 38
9 Torino 26 8 12 6 36 32 4 36
10 Fiorentina 26 9 8 9 35 32 3 35
11 Udinese 26 10 3 13 37 38 -1 33
12 Bologna 27 10 3 14 33 39 -6 33
13 Genoa 26 8 6 12 21 27 -6 30
14 Cagliari 26 7 4 15 23 41 -18 25
15 Chievo 26 6 7 13 23 43 -20 25
16 Sassuolo 26 6 5 15 15 46 -31 23
17 SPAL 27 5 8 14 27 49 -22 23
18 Crotone 26 5 6 15 23 47 -24 21
19 Hellas 26 5 4 17 24 51 -27 19
20 Benevento 26 3 1 22 18 60 -42 10
French
Pos Team P W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 PSG 28 24 2 2 86 19 67 74
2 Monaco 28 18 6 4 69 30 39 60
3 Marseille 28 16 8 4 57 33 24 56
4 Lyon 28 14 9 5 58 34 24 51
5 Rennes 28 12 5 11 36 35 1 41
6 Montpellier 28 9 13 6 25 22 3 40
7 Nantes 28 11 7 10 28 29 -1 40
8 Nice 28 11 6 11 34 39 -5 39
9 Bordeaux 28 10 6 12 33 37 -4 36
10 Dijon 28 10 6 12 40 54 -14 36
11 Guingamp 28 9 8 11 28 38 -10 35
12 Caen 28 10 5 13 22 32 -10 35
13 St-Étienne 28 9 8 11 30 43 -13 35
14 Angers 28 7 10 11 32 40 -8 31
15 Strasbourg 28 8 7 13 32 49 -17 31
16 Amiens 28 8 5 15 23 32 -9 29
17 Toulouse 28 7 8 13 26 37 -11 29
18 Troyes 28 8 4 16 24 38 -14 28
19 Lille 28 7 6 15 27 45 -18 27
20 Metz 28 5 5 18 26 50 -24 20
EPL
Man Utd v Liverpool
West Brom v Leicester
West Ham v Burnley
Newcastle v So’Ampton
Everton v Brighton
Hud’sfield v Swansea
Chelsea v C/Palace
Arsenal v Watford
Bo’mouth v Tottenham
Stoke City v Man City
LALIGA
Girona v Deportivo
Eibar v Real Madrid
Sevilla v Valencia
Getafe v Levante
Málaga v Barcelona
Espanyol v Sociedad
Atlético v Celta Vigo
Las Palmas v Villarreal
Athletic v Leganés
Alavés v Real Betis
BUNDESLIGA
Mainz 05 v Schalke
Bayern v Hamburger
Hoffenheim v Wolfsburg
Hannover v Augsburg
Hertha v Freiburg
Leverkusen v M’gladbach
Stuttgart v Leipzig
Dortmund v Frankfurt
Bremen v Köln
SERIE A
Roma v Torino
Hellas v Chievo
Fiorentina v Benevento
Bologna v Atalanta
Cagliari v Lazio
Sassuolo v SPAL
Crotone v Sampdoria
Juventus v Udinese
Genoa v Milan
Inter v Napoli
LIGUE 1
Strasbourg v Monaco
PSG v Metz
Nantes v Troyes
Dijon v Amiens
Rennes v St-Étienne
Bordeaux v Angers
Lille v Montpellier
Guingamp v Nice
Lyon v Caen
Toulouse v Marseille